Storing data in the file system

I am planning to build alfresco locally and deploy it in a local server.We are evaluating the system at the moment as a potential content management solution but we need to configure it a bit to support new metadata and some other features.My question is if we start using it as it is (out of the box) to add new content and later we replace it with a new version that supports new metadata will be be able to retrieve the data. Where about in the file system is it stored?

You can change the model, adding additional types, properties, aspects and the system will automatically create the underlying tables etc. the next time it is restarted. So you can use the system and then add additional types or additional meta-data for a type at a later date. It will require you to restart the Alfresco server after you make the changes.